


Jump Into The Fire

by Senisra



Series: We're Going Down With This Ship [1]
Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Woman (Comic), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Pre-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Slow Burn, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-01-14 17:38:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18481096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Senisra/pseuds/Senisra
Summary: It's been four days since Thanos' Snap and Jessica Drew has a mission - find whatever it is that is emitting strange signal from Fury's last known whereabouts.Alternate Title: How the Avengers got a hold of Nick Fury's PagerSpoiler Warning: This fic is inspired by the end credits scenes of Avengers: Infinity War and Captain Marvel.  Cannot guarantee compliance to MCU canon.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you My2BrownEyes and Msermesth for being my Beta Readers. You guys are the greatest. 
> 
> This started out as a fic for the CarolJess Community Bingo Event. One of the squares was MCU - but Jessica Drew isn't in the MCU - yet. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. However, I have a very strong feeling this fic might turn out be a bit larger than a bingo square. Rest assured, the POVs will always be either Jessica's or Carol's. 
> 
> Title of Fic inspired by Killing Ourselves to Live by Halestorm: https://youtu.be/-R022lvjns8

Four days. That’s how long it had been since the world went to shit. Since everything turned to dust and ashes. Three days since she got the encrypted message from the Black Widow about what had gone down. Three days since she began traveling towards Fury and Hill’s last known whereabouts at the Black Widow’s request. There was a strange signal being emitted from the same vicinity and the Widow wanted it their hands before anyone else found it. 

For the most part, Jessica had managed to stay out of the Avengers affairs. Not that Fury hadn’t tried to tap her for the team – he had. But Hill hadn’t thought Jess was a good fit, and quite frankly, Jess had agreed with her. That hadn’t kept Fury from leaving her in peace though. He still had her run missions that clearly had tied into Avengers business, but never had her interacting with them. She was fine with that. She was better on her own anyway, especially since her powers had proved unreliable as of late. But the Widow had called her in and with half the world missing, Jess had no choice but to step up. Plus, you didn’t say no to the Black Widow. It never ended well. 

Now, Jess found herself weaving her “borrowed” motorcycle through abandoned cars on the streets of Downtown New Orleans. Curfew was in effect, making the city eerily silent and empty, with the humid evening air only making the silence that much heavier. 

Jessica adjusted the glasses on her face, squinting as she studied the tracking program that was imbedded into them. They were SHIELD issued of course, only to be used for SHIELD business, but Jess had never been one for rules. Besides, Avengers business was SHIELD business. She hung a sharp right, knee almost touching the pavement as the tracker began to ping incessantly. Not much farther now. 

Flashing lights and caution tape caught her attention, causing Jess to slow her bike and assess the situation. Two National Guardsmen and beyond them, some guys who were clearly looking for something. No one was supposed to be out, but then again, protocol was protocol even if half the word had disappeared in dust and ashes only days before. Jess stopped her bike several feet away and approached on foot, flashing the SHIELD badge she seldom used once she was close enough. “What’s going on officers?” She asked, the last word betraying a faint British accent. 

One of the Guards inspected her badge before answering. “Gas leak. Roxxon has the whole block sectioned off ‘til it’s fixed. We can’t let you pass through. You’ll have to find another way around.” 

“That so? Unfortunately, my business is in this block. You have to let me through.” She lifted her glasses, though her eyes flickered briefly to where the officer’s hand rested on his holster. 

“Sorry Miss. No can do.” The officer stood a bit taller and moved into Jessica’s personal space. 

“I see. You do realize you’re interfering with government business?” The men behind the officers were getting agitated. Clearly, they had found something and Jess was nervous about what they had found. She turned her attention back to the officer. If her pheromones were working, she could have used them on the guard, though she’d have felt terrible about it later. As it was, the familiar trickle of electricity under her skin that signified her powers was absent. No bioelectricity also meant no pheromones. That was probably for the best. She gave a tight smile. “Guess they found their leak. Have a good night.” With that, she slid her glassed down over her eyes, pocketed her badge and strode back to the bike. 

She straddled the motorcycle and revved the engine a few times as she assessed the tracker. Whatever it was she was looking for was definitely here. Right where the agitated scientists were to be exact. With another rev of the engine and a squeal of tires, Jess barreled her way towards the two Guardsmen, who only barely just managed to get out of the way. 

Jess wove between stunned guards and abandoned vehicles as she zeroed in on her target. She revved the engine again and sped up, the men before her staring in disbelief as she sped towards them. They dove out of the way; whatever it was they were looking at flying into the air. Powers or not, Jessica’s reflexes were with her today as she threw out a hand and managed to catch whatever it was. There was no time to look as she came skidding to halt before a black SUV. Jess glanced down at the object in her hand. It was gray metal with a gold star emblazoned on the screen. A low beeping sound was emitting from it. 

The familiar “click” of guns being pointed at her got her attention. Which only proved to Jess exactly how fucked up her life was if this could be described as “familiar”. With a sigh, Jess exchanged the device for the badge, flicked her glasses to the top of her head, then turned with her hands raised. Her SHIELD badge was easily visible. “Hey fellas. Nice evening for a bike ride, yeah?” 

“Don’t move!” the guard closest to her hollered. 

Jess rolled her eyes in response. “Not like I can go anywhere. You’ve got me surrounded.” That wasn’t necessarily true, but she was going to let them hope. As an afterthought she added “I’m with SHIELD”. 

“Is there even a SHIELD anymore after that whole fiasco with Daisy Johnson?” someone sneered. Jess flicked her eyes over to a man in a very well-tailored suit and glasses. He approached her slowly. Jess didn’t move. 

“Of course, there is.” Her tone just as snide. “And I’m here on SHIELD business. Now, my business has concluded, so really, I’ll leave you to your gas leak. It’ll be like I was never here.” 

The man was a few feet from her now. He held out his hand. “I’ll let you go as soon as you hand over the device you stole from my scientists.” 

Jess blinked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She took a step back so that her back was pressed against the door of the SUV. 

“The one you put in your back pocket when you pulled out your badge. It’s property of Roxxon.” 

“OH!” Jess reached behind her, swiping her thumb over the keypad on the door of the SUV, before pulling out the device. “You mean this? I think not. See, it’s actually property of SHIELD, which is a government organization, which means it belongs to me and not your shoddy ass company.” She smiled sweetly, then pulled the door of the SUV open and dove inside. 

Jess pressed the start button and a beam of green light flashed in front of her. “Jessica Drew, Clearance level 6. Welcome Jessica.” 

“Holy shit that worked.” Jess only had a second to breathe as the guards opened fire. She silently praised the Patron Saint of Bullet Proof glass, whoever that was, as the rest of the car sprang to life. 

“STOP HER!” the suit yelled as Guards scrambled to comply. 

Jess flinched as another bullet ricocheted off the window. “Oh my God, please tell me this one has a flight mode.” She spoke out loud as she looked for the button to initiate it. 

“Flight Mode Activated.” The car began to hover off the ground as the steering changed to accommodate flight. 

“Hell yes!” Finally, shit went right. Well, as right as to be expected. Jess didn’t waste a second. She threw the car in drive and floored the gas petal, narrowly missing hitting the people below her. 

Once she was safely enough away, she threw the SUV into autopilot (Who knew these things had autopilot) and pulled out the small device she went through all this trouble for. It was still emitting the low beeping sound and Jess couldn’t help but feel as though she should know what she was looking at. She hated that feeling. Jess threw it down on the passenger seat. 

“This had better be worth it.” She muttered as she turned the car north towards New York.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is grumpy and Jess is having a bad day. Also CAROL!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPOILER ALERT (sort of?) - IF you have not scene the End Credits scene of Captain Marvel, this might not make sense to you. I'm kind of filling in the gap and assuming a lot of stuff that probably isn't going to happen in Endgame. 
> 
> Thanks again to My2BrownEyes and Msermesth for being Beta Readers extraordinaire. Shout out to Prosef for pulling a planet Carol saved out of the comics so I could use it here.
> 
> This is my first time writing Banner, Rhodey, and Pepper. I apologize if any are OOC. Rhodey is extra grumpy, but you can't really blame him?

“All I can say definitively is that the frequency of the signal this pager is emitting could reach throughout the galaxy.” Bruce Banner blinked owlishly behind his glasses. “The engineering on this is really genius.”  


“But we don’t know who?” Rhodey pinched the bridge of his nose as Jessica rolled her eyes from where she leaned against a wall.

“Clearly whoever’s emblem or whatever is on the screen of the thing,” She sniped back. Everyone was on edge. Ross was breathing down Rhodey’s neck, Tony was presumed dead, and the Avengers were under pressure for just about every world government.

“Thank you Captain Obvious.” Jess only barely refrained from flipping Rhodey the bird in response. It had been relatively peaceful and quiet until he had come in demanding an update. The only update he succeeded in was making Jessica even more on edge.

Banner, to his credit, ignored their sniping. “I’ve hooked it up, so it won’t lose power. Not that it was in danger of doing that, but as a precaution.”

Jessica sighed and rubbed her eyes. She didn’t even know why she was still here. Except she did. She had tried to end her mission with the delivery of the pager to the Avengers Compound but a guilt trip from the Black Widow followed by an earnest request from Captain America had made her cave before she had a chance to think.

The Widow (Natasha. She had requested to be called Natasha) had assigned Jess to the pager and helping Banner in the lab. She got in the way more often than not and had finally just decided to stay out of his way unless he requested something. Which he didn’t. Which only made it worse because Jessica hated labs. She should just ask Natasha for another assignment, but she, Thor and Captain Rogers (Steve. She had to remember that too) were holed up in another room discussing whatever it was they were discussing.

Jess let her thoughts wander as Bruce explained something about astrophysics to Rhodey. She felt completely useless. Why did they keep her here if she had nothing to contribute? It wasn’t like they needed another spy and Steve and Thor had the superpowers bit covered. Not that Jess really had those anymore either. She could still cling to walls reliably at least. But her other powers were unpredictable at best, and she was nothing without them. They didn’t need her. Jessica’s fingers tapped the wall. She could still leave. Sneak out while the Widow was busy. Natasha was the only one who would notice, but it wouldn’t be until it was too late-

“Jessica.” Much to her embarrassment, Jess was startled out of her reverie by an annoyed looking Pepper Potts. Bruce and Rhodey kept looking from Jess to Pepper, as if waiting for one of them to explode. Jess had a feeling it would be her.

“Ms. Potts.” Jess responded and looked at Pepper expectantly. While she didn’t usually have the time to talk or treat many people with any sort of respect, Pepper scared the shit out of her. Ha. Some highly trained spy she was if she was terrified by a CEO of a huge ass company.

“Can you please explain why the Roxxon Corporation is saying that the Avengers stole something from them?”

Jess pointed to the pager Banner had gone back to poking. “You mean that?”

Pepper followed her gaze and nodded. “Yes, that would seem to be it. They said it was on private property when it was stolen and that their scientists were threatened.”  


“Is that so? Funny, it was in the middle of a street that was closed off for a gas leak. And I told them it was SHIELD property, not the Avengers.”

“Same difference these days,” Banner remarked bitterly as he pressed something on the pager. The sound it was emitting got louder, causing everyone in the room to cover their ears.

“What the fuck did you do Bruce?” Rhodey exclaimed as the scientist scrambled to get the volume turned town again. After what felt like an eternity, he finally did.

“I just pressed that –“ Banner moved to press the button again but Jessica swatted his hand away.

“No. I like my hearing.”

“Right,” Banner sighed and went back to review the data he was collecting from the pager.

Rhodey and Pepper looked at Jess as if the mishap with the pager hadn’t happened. “What?” Jess spread her arms before she crossed them defensively.

“Why Is Roxxon breathing down my neck?”

“Look, what I told you is what I told you. I may have also included that their company is shit. But no one was hurt or threatened. Besides, I’m not public relations. I’ll just make it worse.”

“I’ll say,” Rhodey muttered.

That was it. Jess was done. She wasn’t Avengers material and it was clear that she did not belong here, Widow and Captain Rogers be damned. She wanted to punch something, but that would probably just aggravate Banner and then where would they all be? “I’ll be on the roof to see if any aliens answer that thing’s signal.” With that, she pushed past Pepper and strode towards the stairwell that led to the roof.

*****

She had been on a tiny planet called Ursarkia when it happened. They had just won. Had just overthrown one of the most tyrannical rulers Carol had ever seen, when suddenly half the battlefield turned to dust and ashes. It was already a shit show – the battle hadn’t gone according to plan but battles seldom did. So, when half the battlefield turned to dust and ashes, the chaos became even more frenzied as the Tyrant became one of the casualties. It was then that the “Usurper”, as the Tyrant’s forces called her, proved her mettle. She gave Carol one panicked look before she suppressed it and rallied her troops despite the heavy losses to both sides. She then granted clemency to those who served their previous King in exchange for loyalty. 

Two days later, some order had been restored to Ursarkia, but the mysterious disappearance of half the population had yet to be explained. The citizens were naturally suspicious and on the verge of panic, but their new leader was somehow managing to keep the peace. It helped that reports were coming in that Ursarkia wasn’t the only planet affected by this mass extinction.

It was the report about a surge of power coming from Earth at the same time everything went to shit that had Carol flying back to her ship and searching through her belongings. A buzzing sound from a drawer caught her attention. She pulled out the ancient pager, a duplicate of the one she had made for Nick Fury over two decades ago and pursed her lips. The signal had come in the same time everyone disappeared.

Carol hadn’t wasted another moment and now she found herself approaching her home planet and felt – apprehensive wasn’t exactly the word she was looking for, but it would do. She wanted to check on Maria and Monica first, but was afraid that they would be dust. Carol was sorely tempted. The pagers signal was coming from New Orleans – she would be so close. However, Carol checked the signal again and realized it had been moved to New York. That concerned her. She said a silent apology to Maria, wherever she was, as Earth came into view and caught her breath.

It really was a gorgeous planet. And it was home.

She left her ship cloaked within Earth’s orbit. She used to tell herself it was so she always had an extra weapon or way to escape if she ever needed it. In reality, it was because she would take any excuse to fly. Flying gave Carol a sense of freedom she didn’t find anywhere else and would fly whenever she had the chance. If it weren’t for the fact that she needed to eat and sleep, she wouldn’t have bothered having a ship at all.

Carol let herself free fall through Earth’s atmosphere. A calmness fell over her as the wind roared past her ears and her body absorbed the energy of the fall. The feeling was addicting, one she never got tired of and tried to get as often as possible. She grinned as her body began to glow with a fire that seemed to come from within. With a move that could only be described as practiced, she twisted her body mid-fall, threw her arms in front of her and rocketed forward like a comet.

She flew over, the past, New York City, with the Statue of Liberty a glowing beacon in evening light. The signal took her to a facility just north of the City. Carol paused midair to assess the situation. It screamed “Base” to her senses, but she didn’t see any sort of weaponry that was capable of shooting her out of the sky. There was, however, a noticeable entrance on the roof. A tap of her helmet showed several heat signatures inside and one lone signature in the shadows of the rooftop entrance. Well that was interesting.

Decision made, Carol landed and had only gotten three steps before her path was blocked by a woman with dark hair and the greenest eyes she had ever seen. “Excuse you. Where do you think you’re going?” her voice was accusatory and stilted with an accent Carol barely remembered as British.

She continued forward until she was in the woman’s space. The woman crossed her arms, but otherwise didn’t back down. Carol was surprised to find they were of the same height, though the woman’s frame was smaller than hers. Her body was tense, clearly itching to fight. Carol decided to be polite. “I’m here for Nick Fury. Where is he?”

“Don’t know, but even if I did, why the hell would I tell you? I don’t know who you are.”

Carol had a suspicion that the woman was bluffing. At least partially, if the look of recognition that flitted across her face as Carol had approached was anything to go by. Perhaps she recognized the symbol on her uniform, since it was the same one that should have showed up on the pager she had given Nick. “I don’t have time for this. I’m here to help. If you’re not going to tell me, then I’m going to ask those below you and you won’t be able to stop me.”

“Is that so? I’d like to see you try.”

Carol raised an eyebrow, “Alright. Challenge accepted.” She grabbed each of the woman’s upper arms and lifted her into the air, then tossed her to the side, sending her ass over teakettle. Carol smirked but didn’t spare a second glance as she continued toward the door.

“Fuck you.” Was all the warning Carol had before a solid weight knocked her legs out from underneath her. “You come waltzing in here like you own the place and expect us to just hand you what you want? I think not.” Carol twisted in the woman’s grip just in time to block a startlingly powerful punch. A mixture of anger and determination was on her opponent’s face as her fists began to spark with bright green electricity that matched her eyes.

“You’re right. I am being a bit rude. But I think you’re being even more rude. Is this how your parents taught you to treat house guests?” Before the woman even had a chance to react, Carol hit her with a low grade photon blast of her own and sent her hurtling across the roof. This time, she was smart enough to stay down as Carol picked herself up and dusted her uniform off.

“Choose your battles more wisely next time,” Carol called over her shoulder as she descended into the building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter won't be until after EndGame. What did you think? Comments are greatly, greatly appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol meets everyone else and has a discussion with Jess.
> 
> **Endgame Spoilers** since I'm filling in some blanks and time gaps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you to My2BrownEyes and Msermesth for being my beta readers.

Jess was quite literally smoking. Tendrils of smoke curled in lazy clouds above her from the holes in her now singed jacket. An experimental roll of her shoulders told her the skin underneath was burned, but it was nothing a cold shower couldn’t fix. With a wince, she managed to lever herself up on her elbows just in time to see the strange woman’s blonde hair disappear into the dark stairwell.

In retrospect, Jessica probably shouldn’t have picked a fight with the woman. Hindsight was always 20/20 after all. But Jess had been itching for a fight and that strange woman had certainly delivered. A strange, unfamiliar woman _who glowed bright like the sun and could fly_. Jealousy twisted in Jessica’s gut. Back before her powers had decided to fail her, she could do that. Well. Sort of. Jess couldn’t just hurtle through the sky like a rocket as this woman had. She could glide. Soar like a bird of prey on the air currents. Jess had special web-wings sewn into her jacket that had enabled her to do it. It was the closest feeling she had to being care-free. Nothing bothered her when she was in the air. But these days, she didn’t trust herself to not go falling to her death in the middle of flight. Although if she ever wanted to end it all that would be the quickest way to go. It was a dark thought, but she had those all the time. It wasn’t as if she was going to act on them. Not yet anyway.

Jess flopped back down into the gravel, ignoring the way the rocks cut into the skin of her neck. She raised an arm, wincing as her injuries protested, and inspected her hand. Not even a spark now. She’d had one shot to zap the smirk of that woman’s pretty face and had blown it. Jess allowed another moment of self-indulgent pity before the pain in her shoulders couldn’t be ignored. With a soft groan, she got to her feet, not even bothering to dust herself off as she followed the blonde woman’s path down the stairs.  


*****

It didn’t take Carol anytime at all to find the other people in the building. She heard voices as soon as she entered the hallway. She saw them before she could hear what they were saying. There were four people, three men and a woman, and they didn’t sound happy.

Carol paused just inside the door. This woman was shorter than Carol and the one from the roof, with platinum blonde hair cut short. The blond man looked vaguely familiar to Carol, while the other two – one clearly a scientist and the other clearly military despite the brace he wore around his legs. He carried himself like a serviceman.

“-I wanna know who’s on the other end of that thing.” The woman turned and nearly ran into Carol. She took a step back and raised an eyebrow. Two of the men got between her and the scientist, fist raised and ready to fight.

“Where’s Fury?” even to her own ears, Carol sounded agitated. She blamed that on her tussle with the first woman.

She got several questions in return at once. “Who are you?” “Why should we tell you?” “How did you get in here?” 

“You’re wearing the symbol that was on this thing.” That wasn’t a question. Carol turned towards the scientist with a wry smile. He was looking from Fury’s pager to Carol. The smile seemed to encourage him. “You’re the one this thing was emitting a signal to.”

Carol stepped forward and held out her hand. “Congratulations Mr….,” she trailed off, a look of expectation on her face.

“Doctor. Banner. I mean Dr. Bruce Banner,” he completed for her, taking her hand in his own. He took the liberty of introducing the others as Natasha Romanoff, Captain Steve Rogers, and Colonel James Rhodes respectively.

“Captain Carol Danvers,” she supplied for him. “You’ve figured it out.”

“Still doesn’t explain how you got in here, Captain,” Rhodey challenged.

“Through the roof.” Another voice answered for her. Carol turned to see the woman from before leaning against the entrance to the lab. She looked a bit rough, covered in dust and gravel. The holes Carol had melted into her jacket completed the look. She could see blistered skin beneath the holes, but the woman gave no hint of pain. She just silently regarded the rest of the room with guarded eyes.

“Jess was on the roof,” Banner supplied.

Four sets of eyes turned back to Carol for explanation. “Heat signatures showed you four down here and one on the roof. I decided to start with the roof and was met with hostility.” Jess huffed but otherwise didn’t contradict Carol’s explanation.

“Well, Jessica isn’t exactly the welcome wagon.” Rhodey muttered. Carol frowned and was about to retort that he wasn’t either, but Rogers intervened.

“Look, it’s been a long few days and we’re all tired,” he looked at everyone in the room before his gaze landed on Carol and held. “Captain, I’m sure you’ll feel better once you’ve had a shower and something to eat. I know I will.”

“I’ll shower and eat when you tell me where Fury is, Captain.” Carol’s gaze didn’t waiver from Steve’s as she stood with her arms behind her back.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. He’s dust and ashes like the rest of them. Surprised he was able to get the damn thing to work before he went ‘poof’,” Jessica finally spoke up. “Do you honestly think that if Nick Fury was still around, he wouldn’t be here telling us all to shut up and get to work?”

Carol’s heart sank. It wasn’t that she was surprised. She had assumed that was the case, considering that Fury wasn’t here. But having it confirmed? It made part of her want to fly off to check on Monica and Maria. But really, what purpose would that serve? If they were victims of Thanos, there was nothing she could do right now. And if they weren’t, if they were still alive, then Carol assumed Maria would have everything under control in her neck of the woods. As a matter of fact, Carol was certain Maria would yell at her for being there with them rather than out saving the universe. Best to focus on what she could do here and now.

“Jessica.” Steve finally tore his gaze from Carol to admonish her.

“She’s not wrong,” both Natasha and Carol responded. Carol gave Nat an amused smirk despite the circumstances. Nat returned it with a quiet smirk of her own.

Carol shifted her smile to Jess but was only met with the same guarded look. Right. She wouldn’t be smiling either if she had just gotten blasted across a roof. Carol’s gaze drifted again to the two holes at the shoulders of Jessica’s jacket and frowned. Jess needed to see medical.

Apparently, Rogers had the same thought. “Enough of this. Jessica, show Captain Danvers to the showers and then get yourself to medical. That’s an order.” Jessica rolled her eyes, but he must have taken it for assent because he let it lie. “Everyone else, meet in the Ops room in two hours and we’ll discuss our next steps.”

Everyone dispersed until it was just the two of them in the lab. Carol looked at Jessica expectantly until she finally shoved herself off the door frame with only a slight wince. “This way then. Showers are on the way to medical.” She was cool and professional now, as if she hadn’t two huge burns on her shoulders. Carol had to admit she was impressed.

They walked in silence as Jessica led her down another flight of stairs, several hallways, and through a training room of some sort, with several entrances and exits. Jess finally came to a stop outside one of the doors. “Dirty clothes and towels in the bins on your left. Fresh clothes, towels, and soap on the shelves to your right. Feel free to help yourself to whatever.” She told Carol without looking at her.

“Thank you.” Carol replied, but didn’t go in. She studied Jessica instead. Jessica had to be one of the most beautiful women Carol had ever met. The dark hair, the startling green eyes. She was a fighter too – it wasn’t often that Carol had her feet knocked out from underneath her. The dark circles under her eyes and the guarded look within them told another story though. One that spoke of mistreatment and nightmares that would make even the stoutest souls wither. It was a look Carol had seen far too many times in her travels and it set off all sorts of alarm bells. “Do they treat you alright here?”

The question caught Jessica by surprise. Finally, she looked at the blonde with an elegantly raised eyebrow, but no other hint of amusement. “Asks the woman who blasted me across the roof.”

Carol had the grace to look contrite. “I might have overreacted a little. I’m sorry I hurt you.” 

Jessica tilted her head, the guarded look now replaced with suspicion. That was not the reaction Carol had been expecting.

“Funny. I was fully intending to hurt you. I brought it upon myself.” Jessica left it at that, though she supposed after that admission, she should be the one apologizing. Jessica didn’t apologize though. And she wasn’t accepting apologies from strangers. Especially this one who threw her more off balance than she already was. She reached for the door and pulled it open, doing her best to ignore the pain that the movement caused her injuries. “Showers are inside,” she pointed with her other hand. 

Captain Danvers infuriatingly stayed put, the frown on her face deepening and some emotion Jessica wasn’t familiar with creeping into her brown eyes. Jessica normally wasn’t bothered by frowning, people frowned at her all the time. But the Captain was frowning at her and it most definitely bothered Jessica. She bounced a little on the balls of her feet, clearly uncomfortable. “Uh...I accept your apology?” Was that what Captain Danvers wanted? Jess felt like an idiot standing there holding this door open for this woman who was making her all sorts of uncomfortable and couldn’t she just take the damn shower and leave her alone?

When Carol didn’t respond, Jessica added, “The Cafeteria is down the hall and to your right. Medical to the left. Don’t think you need it though. Medical that is.” Jessica was clearly getting ready to bolt and whatever Carol wanted to say was left unsaid.

“I’ll let you get those looked at,” she said instead, gesturing to the brunette’s injuries. She gave Jess a tight smile then entered the locker room that was just like every other locker room in every military base she had ever been in.

Outside, Jessica let the door go and it closed with a soft “whump”. Jess sagged against the wall for a moment then lifted her head to glare at the door and the woman beyond it. What the hell had that been about? What had that expression on the Captain’s face been? Concern? Pity? Jessica hadn’t liked it and decided she didn’t want to know. Her face resumed its mask of guarded indifference as she made her way to medical.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jess and Nat have a discussion. So do Carol and Steve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPOILERS FOR ENDGAME
> 
> Trying to fill in some of the gaps in the first 20 minutes of End Game here. Bobbi = Bobbi Morse AKA Mockingbird for those of you unfamiliar with Agents of SHIELD and the comics. I noticed in the Avengers compound scene during the movie that Carol was in her Captain Marvel pants still, just not her shirt. Also some of the Avengers symbols haven't been that consistent, so I could be wrong and mixing some of them up with their symbol from the comics (I'm looking at you Ironman, Hawkeye, and Hulk).
> 
> Thanks again to My2BrownEyes and Msermesth as always.

The doctors had just finished bandaging Jessica’s burns and were sending her on her way when Natasha entered the med bay. A nod from the Russian Spy sent all but one of the doctors scattering. Of course, it had to be the doctor that had poked and prodded at Jessica the most. She shuffled some papers and handed them off to the red head. “I’ve made some notes. We had to get the burn under control, which took some time. Her injuries were basically cooking from the inside out. She’s cleared for light duty until they heal.” 

Natasha raised her eyebrows as she read over the Doctor’s notes. “How long do you expect that to take?” She handed the notes back. 

Jessica huffed with exasperation. “I’m right here you know.”

The doctor turned and scowled at Jess, then turned back to Natasha. “A day or two, so long as her healing rate maintains its pace and she listens to doctor’s orders.” After that, the doctor left Natasha and Jessica alone.

The staring contest began. It was just a matter of who would cave first. 

As usual, Jessica lost. “She can fly. And she glows bright like the sun.” Maybe if she gave Natasha useful intel, this conversation wouldn’t go where Jessica feared it would go. 

“How poetic of you,” Natasha responded dryly, but Jessica knew she was tucking that bit of information away. “Why the hell did you think it was a good idea to pick a fight with someone who can fly and glow like the sun?” Well. Jessica had tried to keep it from going there. She should know better by now. When Natasha got her mind set on berating her, there was no steering away from it. 

“Because she was a stranger and I wanted to make sure she wasn’t hostile?” 

“I think you were the hostile one in this scenario.” 

“I asked her what she was doing here, and she asked ‘Where’s Fury’ like she had any right. And then she just walked herself across the roof like she owned the place. I wasn’t about to let her in.” 

“Someone shows up wearing the symbol that was on Fury’s pager and you didn’t call for backup? Or even let her in?” 

“Because there wasn’t time.” Which in part was true. Jessica also didn’t trust that anyone would answer if she raised the alarm, but she left that bit unsaid. 

“More like ‘I was looking for a fight,’ and you got yourself microwaved in the process.” Natasha crossed her arms and quirked an eyebrow. 

That was also true, but Jess wouldn't admit to that. “What would you have done then?” Wow, that had sounded petulant even to her ears. 

“What any competent spy trained by Hydra and SHIELD, such as yourself, would have done.” Natasha spoke slowly, as if Jessica were a student who had failed one too many times. “I would have stayed hidden and alerted everyone else.” 

Jessica frowned and looked down at her hands. She really couldn’t argue with that and she wasn’t about to explain why she was looking for a fight other than that she was. Jess looked back at Natasha, her frown still in place. “Why did you ask me to get the pager?”

Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose briefly, as if trying to rein in her annoyance with Jessica. “The answer to that is obvious, Jessica.” 

“Well, it’s not so obvious to me. Bobbi would have been a much better choice.”

“Bobbi is in Eastern Europe gathering other information. With Fury and Hill gone along with half of the rest of the world, you were the only option. Whether you like it or not Jessica, it’s time to step up. You’re an Avenger now. Technically, you’ve always been one, regardless of what Hill thought.” 

“I think you’re wrong. I don’t belong here,” Jess raised an arm to emphasize her point and immediately regretted it. 

Natasha ignored Jessica’s discomfort. “The only reason you don’t belong here is because you’re making sure you don’t belong here. They’re not going to bite, Jess. Why is it you’re so afraid of making friends?”

“I’m not afraid to make friends,” Jess lied. They’d all wind up hating her eventually anyway. 

Natasha just tilted her head and looked skeptical. Jess never had been good at out bullshitting a bullshitter. It was just one tiny thing on a long list of reasons why Jess thought she wasn’t cut out for this. She would never be as good a spy as the Black Widow, powers intact or not. 

“That’s good, because Steve and I have assigned you to keep an eye on Captain Danvers while she’s here.” The redhead broke into a grin that a shark would envy as Jessica’s expression turned into one of disbelief.

“You have got to be shitting me.” 

*****

Something had to be said about how relaxing a hot shower could be. Especially after days of traveling through space. Carol sighed as some of the tension she had been carrying evaporated with the steam. She’s not sure how long she stood there as the water rinsed away the dirt and debris, but it was glorious. Unfortunately, she couldn’t stay in here forever. She grabbed the bottle of shampoo and started with her hair as she organized her thoughts. 

Should she believe these strangers and their story about Fury being gone? For all Carol knew, they could be fibbing. Pretending to know Fury and being friendly (for the most part) just to lure Carol into a trap of some sort and use her for their own gain. However, Jessica’s words ran through her mind again. Carol shook her head. 

Fury was gone. This Carol believed with everything she had, despite the source of information it came from. For all that Jessica was aggressive and standoffish, she didn’t strike Carol as someone who would lie. Quite the opposite. Which was odd considering that the woman moved like an assassin. She got the impression Jessica was one of those people who called it like she saw it, no matter how rude it sounded. Carol appreciated people like that. 

But that didn’t change that Fury was gone and it made Carol worried. She valued Fury’s insight and his ability to cut right to the point. He was a doer like her. Get the facts and reach a solution. He got shit done.

Carol had some doubts about this group getting things done. She never thought herself to be one for reading individuals, but she could read a crowd. They were a team - it was clear to her they had fought together before. Yet, there was also an underlying hostility or resentment as well. That never boded well. She needed information before whatever this meeting was. What had she missed that had caused so many people across the universe to just vanish? 

Rogers would probably be her best bet for that. He and Romanoff were the clear leaders here, but Romanoff gave off a similar vibe to Jessica. Rogers seemed like an honest sort in a boy scout sort of way and far more welcoming. Carol was also one hundred percent certain she had seen his face before but still couldn’t quite place it.

With a sigh, she rinsed herself a final time, turned off the water and toweled herself dry. She opted to keep her pants. A quick rinse in the sink and a couple of shakes to get the water off and they were dry. There was something to be said about Kree technology. However, the night was warm, so she opted for the tank top that seemed to be standard issue here. Finally feeling more herself, Carol left the locker room and followed Jessica’s directions to the mess hall. 

Almost immediately she was intercepted by Captain Rogers. “Want company? We’ve got time to kill and I’m always hungry.” He gave a friendly smile as he fell into step beside her. 

“Sure. You can get me caught up before this meeting of yours.” Carol smiled back, though that nagging feeling she should recognize him was still there. 

“You seem to know where you’re going.” He commented as they rounded the corner. Carol was tempted to make the left and check on Jessica instead but decided against it. She could hear the clink of dinnerware and voices raised in conversation as they drew nearer. 

Carol couldn’t help but give a short laugh at that. “Jessica told me where to find it as she deposited me at the locker room."

Steve raised his eyebrows at that, but then nodded. “Food seems pretty important to her. I’m sorry about her behavior by the way. She hasn’t been here more than a day or two and is still settling in.” 

“Is this your way of saying that she’s been rude to everyone, not just me, Captain?”

Steve barked a short laugh of his own. “That it is. Don’t take it personally.” 

“Oh, I don’t.” Jess had been doing her job. She wasn’t settled in her role here. Maybe Jess had overreacted, but maybe Carol had too. 

Finally, they came to a pair of red painted double doors. Captain Rogers seemed to steel himself for a moment, then pushed open the doors the led to large room with bright white walls - except for one. On one wall, someone had painted a red hourglass, purple chevrons, a green fist, a hammer, a red circle with a triangle at it's center, and a shield. It was the shield that caught Carol’s attention. 

She stared at it. Then turned back to an amused Captain Rogers. “Holy shit. You’re Captain America.” How many times had she seen his face in her textbooks through school and later, through military training? Wasn’t he supposed to be dead? “The beard threw me off.” 

“That was the point. Glad it worked.” Steve smiled, but there was a slightly mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Carol decided then and there that she liked him. “Alright, Captain,” Carol held out her hand. “You didn’t ask for help, but I’ll stick around and help in any way I can. But you have to tell me a story first.” Truth be told, she had decided to do that the minute she arrived, but this cemented her pact to herself. 

The Captain’s grin widened as he took Carol’s offered hand. “You can call me Steve. And I’ll only tell my story if I get one from you in return.” 

“Then we have ourselves a deal.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A meeting of Avengers takes place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little bit longer and fills in what happened between the time Carol arrived at the end of Captain Marvel and the beginning of Endgame.
> 
> I may have mixed up some details from the movies, so I apologize in advance.
> 
> Thanks again to My2BrownEyes and Msermesth for Beta Reading! Legit, the best people ever.

An hour and several cheeseburgers later, Carol and Steve not only had their life stories but a good measure on each other as well. Now, Steve was leading Carol down another long corridor and up another flight of stairs. They walked in companionable silence, nothing more needing to be said until the others arrived for Steve’s meeting. Carol didn’t complain. It gave her a chance to think, though she still noted the path they were taking.

She could easily see herself becoming friends with the man. Despite how different their lives were, they had an uncanny amount in common - military background included. Carol grinned to herself at Steve’s exasperated “Doesn’t ANYONE enlist in the Army, anymore?” floated through her mind when he found out she was in the Air Force. Apparently, Rhodes was Air Force too and Carol was keen to pick his mind if they ever got a minute. 

Finally, they stopped at another door, this one painted blue. Ever chivalrous, Steve opened the door to let Carol go in first. This room had a long conference table in it with a full kitchen off to the side. She stared back at Steve as he followed her in. “If this was here, why were we in the Cafeteria?”

Steve shrugged. “It was closer to where you were. If you’re planning on sticking around for a while, we’ll give you your own room. We had extras before….” he trailed off and looked down a moment before meeting Carol’s eye again. “We have room.” 

“Thanks,” Carol gave a sympathetic smile as she took a seat at the table. She could feel a sadness settle over her as she realized that there was a good chance that the people that had vanished might never come back. There was still hope though, and Carol held onto it with everything thing she had. 

People began to trickle into the room in pairs. First Banner and Rhodes, who took seats opposite Carol. Rhodes nodded in greeting to Carol then turned to Steve. “Pepper is dealing with that mess Jessica caused in Louisiana. She won’t be joining us.” 

Carol straightened a little at that. Rogers had told her that Jess had been the one to find the pager, but not where she had found it. What had Fury been doing in Louisiana? Unfortunately, she hadn’t much time to think about it as the next to wander in was a grim looking Asgardian, who chose to pace the length of the room instead of taking a seat, and... a racoon? 

She did a double take and looked from the racoon to Steve and back. He had mentioned Thor and Rocket. Carol had heard of Thor in her travels. What Steve had neglected to mention was that this Rocket was a racoon. She didn’t know why she was surprised, since she’d seen all sorts of people before.

“What’s your problem, lady?” the Racoon snarked after he climbed onto the table. “You ain’t seen anything like me before?” 

“Nope. But I have met a talking duck, so I really can’t tell you why I’m surprised to meet a raccoon.” 

Rocket was in her face in a flash and the room grew very quiet. “Don’t EVER call me that.” Carol put up her hands in acquiescence, figuring now was not the time to get into a fight with a raccoon. Rocket nodded in satisfaction and stepped away, but not before Carol heard him mutter “Everyone knows that fucking duck.” Carol decided to store that bit of ammo away for later. She shot Rogers an amused smirk.

That mischievous twinkle was back in Captain Roger’s eyes again. He leaned over to her and whispered, “Sorry, sometimes it’s easier to show than tell.” She couldn’t really disagree with that. 

Jessica and Natasha were the last to arrive, the former wearing a soft tank top to keep from rubbing at the bandages on her shoulders. 

“OH hey. I saw the video of Princess Sparklefists here nuking your ass. You got some good air.” Rocket piped up from his corner of the table. Carol didn’t hear the slight as she studied Jess. Steve and Natasha exchanged a look but didn’t say anything. 

Jess ignored him as she took a spot along the wall that Thor wasn’t pacing. Natasha sat next to Carol, but she hardly noticed. She frowned as she continued to assess Jessica’s injuries. The upper half of her arms were a bright red as well and Carol began to suspect that her photon blast might not have been as mild as she had initially thought. 

“Looks like she cooked ya pretty good too. I can smell you over here. For the record, roasted Spider is pretty- URK” Rocket’s taunt was cut off as Jess had quite literally leapt from across the room to grab the racoon by the neck. 

“Let him go, Jessica.” Steve commanded, but Jessica ignored him, her attention focused on the struggling raccoon. 

Her face inches from Rocket’s she growled, “Listen to me you grubby little trash panda-” 

Rocket stopped struggling. “You don’t get to call me that.” He responded with a deadly whisper; his eyes bright. 

Jessica studied Rocket a moment and a flash of shame crossed her face. She released the racoon with a half-hearted, “Then don’t talk to me,” and resumed her place along the wall. Rocket didn’t say anything, but Carol was certain that if looks could kill, Jessica would be dead.

Thor stopped his pacing to stand behind Rocket. “You will not threaten Rabbit again in such a manner.” 

Jessica looked up long enough and saluted her agreement to Thor, but otherwise didn’t say anything. Carol’s frown deepened. Carol had hurt Jessica, and everyone seemed to agree, including Jessica herself, that she had deserved it. Yet this “Rabbit” came in swinging insults and no one yells at him for his attitude or agrees that Jess was defending herself? Ok, maybe Jess could have handled it a little better, but that wasn’t the point.

Carol leaned over and leveled a glare of her own at Rocket. “If you don’t want to be threatened, maybe you should keep your trap shut.” 

“That’s enough.” Steve cut Rocket off before he, or anyone else, could retort. Carol settled back into her chair as if nothing happened, but she didn’t miss the glare Jessica had shot her way. Steve wasn’t giving her a second to ponder that reaction either as he immediately leapt into the meeting.

“Since everyone seems to have introduced themselves,” he began, leveling a look a Rocket and Jess in particular, “Let’s begin. I’ve spent the last hour or so getting Captain Danvers-”

“You can call me Carol. Or Captain Marvel. It doesn’t matter,” Carol smiled beatifically. 

“I’ve heard of you,” Rocket narrowed his eyes, but a quiet “Rabbit” and head shake from Thor kept him from saying anything else.

“Wait - You’ve heard of her?” Rhodey interjected. 

“How haven’t you heard of her? SHE’S FROM HERE!” Rocket exclaimed. “I swear, you Terrans are so backwards it’s amazing you can find your own asses half the time. She’s the ‘Savior of Planets’,” he said the last as he held up his hands in air quotes. 

“Then why the hell didn’t Fury call you in sooner?” Rhodey asked Carol. 

“It doesn’t matter - she’s here now,” Steve responded, trying to get the conversation back on track. “And now we have a better chance of seeing if Tony and the others survived.” 

Jess had to admit Rhodes had a point. She could have counted on both hands the number of times Fury could have called Danvers in. How long had he known about her anyway? Not that it really mattered. Fury never told Jessica anything unless it pertained to a mission. It was better not to dwell on it, like Steve said. 

“Ok, so where was everyone the last time you saw them?” Jessica spoke up from where she quite literally sat on the wall, her earlier embarrassment not forgotten, but temporarily pushed aside. They weren’t getting anywhere with this random banter. She began to wonder how Earth’s Mightiest Heroes got anything done at all. 

“Finally, a relevant question.” Carol muttered to herself. Jess inexplicably felt a tiny spark of pride at that, though she did her best not to show it. If she was sitting up a little straighter, it was because she was paying attention, right? Natasha only snorted as everyone else turned their attention to Banner, Rocket and Thor.

Doctor Banner removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “Last I saw, Tony, Dr. Strange, and Spider-Man were on one of the ships Thanos sent. I have no idea where in space it was going.” 

“I have an idea,” Rocket spoke up again, this time all business. “We split up. Thor and I took the pod to Nidavellir to get him a new axe. The rest took the Benatar-”

The room erupted. “Everyone knows Nidavellir is a myth,” from Carol and “As in Pat Benatar?” from Rhodey and Dr. Banner. Jess furrowed her brow and looked at Natasha, who just shrugged. Oddly, Natasha’s shrug made Jess feel better. “The Great and Powerful” Black Widow didn’t know everything.

Rocket held up a finger and looked at Carol. The room settled again. “One. I said the same exact thing and I am going to admit I was wrong, which will NEVER happen again,” He paused a moment, then continued, “Two. Sure. As in Pat Benatar. Anyway, they were heading to Knowhere.”

Carol’s expression grew sympathetic as she leaned in towards the raccoon, “I have it on good authority that Knowhere was destroyed a week ago. There was nothing left. I’m sorry.” 

The room fell into silence as Rocket digested that piece of news. He looked utterly crestfallen and even Jessica found herself feeling sorry for him. “Oh. I got nothing then.” He turned away from the group and hopped off the table and into a chair. 

“But, Rabbit, did the green woman not mention she was Thanos’ daughter? Surely, she must have told you where the Mad Titan hails from?” Thor had stopped his pacing and was looking intently at Rocket. 

Rocket could only be described as thunderstruck. “Yeah…” he trailed of a moment before getting excited. “Yeah! You just said it! Titan! They gotta be there. I don’t know where else they could be. It would make sense for his ships to go there too.” 

Jess watched as the others brightened at this news. None of what Rocket was saying made sense to her. Nidavellir, Knowhere, Titan and Benatars - that was all out of Jessica’s realm of awareness. Jessica hadn’t met Tony, or any of Rocket’s friends. None of this applied to her. She was half tempted to leave the rescue mission details to the others. Her mouth had other ideas. “Alright, so take your pod to this Titan place and go get them.” 

“No can do. It’ll get us as far as Earth, but it won’t get us to Titan. It’s not meant for sustained space travel. Besides, we need to repair it before it can even get to Earth since this big lug damaged it in his quest for a weapon.” The racoon jerked a thumb back at Thor. 

“Can’t you just...use the Bifrost to retrieve the ship or go to Titan?” Steve asked Thor.

“Nay. I can only use it to summon people and small object that they carry. While I’d be able to get to Titan, there is no evidence that they are there, and I do not have Heimdall’s ability to see all things.” Thor looked away, but not before Jess noticed the grief in his eyes. Not for the first time, Jess was grateful that she had no one to lose. That amount of pain didn’t seem worth it to her.

“My ship can make it and transport the Benatar back.” Carol spoke up. “I just need a read on the ship in case it’s cloaked or not emitting a distress call.” 

Of course, she had her own spaceship. Jess began to wonder what the “Mighty Captain Marvel” couldn’t do. She was her own one-woman Avengers team it would seem. Jess found herself wishing she could be half as badass as Carol was.

“The only way you’re gonna get a read on the Benatar is if you get a read on its escape pod. It’s gonna take at least a day and a half to get it back here.” 

“That’s fine because I need to restock my ship. I used the majority of my supplies on the last planet I visited.” Carol looked expectantly at Steve. 

“Not a problem. We can get you whatever you need. We have to assume there could be injuries.” Steve paused a moment. “Or worse. We have to prepare for the worst.” Jess knew Steve meant not just vanished dead, but dead-dead. 

“Jessica will assist you in gathering whatever you need,” Steve paused again as he looked over at Jessica, his mouth set in a grim line. Throughout most of the meeting, Jess had mostly forgotten about her injuries. Now that things were happening, whatever pain tolerance Jess had had was beginning to wane. Jess gave Steve what she hoped was a stoic look. Steve wasn’t having it. “It can wait until morning.” Jessica looked away, shamefaced. She missed the fact she her expression mirrored Carol’s.

“Thor and Rocket, you know what to do.” 

“Come, Rabbit.” Thor commanded. He nodded once at Steve and strode out of the room, Rocket hot on his heels. 

“I’ll - go let Pepper know we have a plan.” Rhodey offered. Jessica didn’t envy him that job. Steve nodded as Rhodey limped his way out of the room. 

“What about the rest of us?” Banner asked, this time as he wiped his glasses clean with a corner of his lab coat. 

“The rest of us just wait.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting follow-up and let's get to know Jess a little better shall we?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more of a filler chapter. I hope you enjoy it. I've included one or two of my own personal headcannons about Jess in this chapter.
> 
> As always, My2BrownEyes and Msermesth are the best.

Everyone filed out of the room and Carol once again found herself following Jessica through the compound. “I’m beginning to feel like you’re my handler or something.” 

Jessica came to a halt, then turned to face Carol. “I am your liaison while you’re here. Is there a problem with that?” She stood with her arms crossed and lips pursed. 

“I don’t really feel like I need a liaison if we’re on the same team here.” Carol raised an eyebrow and echoed Jessica’s stance. “Besides, I’d think that’s something Steve or Natasha rather do themselves than assign it to someone else.” 

At that Jessica sighed and looked away for a moment. “You’re not wrong. It’s my punishment for being rude earlier.” 

Carol burst out laughing at that. She stopped when she realized that Jessica wasn’t laughing with her. “Oh my God, you’re serious. They actually told you that?” The injuries she had caused Jessica hadn’t been enough? 

“No, but it was easy enough to deduce.” Jessica grew quiet a moment, as if debating to say more on the subject. Whatever it was, remained unsaid. “Come on, I’ll show you where we keep medical supplies.” She turned and started off again at a brisk walk and Carol had to break into a slow jog to catch up. 

“Wait a minute.” Without thinking, Carol grabbed Jessica by the elbow. She got the intended reaction. Jessica froze and stared down at Carol’s hand before she jerked her arm free. The movement had cost her, if the muttered “Fuck” and the way she moved her other arm to her injured shoulder was any indication. “Steve said it could wait until tomorrow. Just show me to whatever room he wants me to stay in.” 

“I’d rather get it over with.” Jess bristled. 

“I think you should listen to your commanding officer who is obviously giving you orders to rest.” Carol snapped back. 

Jess straightened and moved into Carol’s space much as she’d done earlier. “One, I am not a soldier. I am a spy. Two, I don’t take orders from you. Three. I don’t need you butting into my business or sticking up for me. I can take care of myself, thank you.” 

Ahh. There it was. Jessica was upset that Carol had intervened earlier. “Well, you do a pretty shit job of sticking up for yourself. Someone had to.” 

“Unlike you, I know when to not escalate a fight. Also, I am not some Disney Princess that needs rescuing,” Jessica hissed. 

Carol wanted to point out that Jessica seemed to prefer to pick fights, but decided to prove a point by NOT escalating this one. She took a step backwards and held up her arms in surrender. “Fine. For the record though, I would like to get some sleep. It’s been a long day.” 

“Fine. This way then.” Jessica brushed past Carol and led her back the way they had come and into a quieter part of the compound. This was a long, curved hallway with several doors on one side with giant windows overlooking the forest on the other. It was peaceful. They came to a stop outside one door about halfway down hall. “This is where the Avengers stay. They’re full flats, so if you don’t want to eat with everyone else in the cafeteria, you don’t have to. This is yours.” 

“Thank you. Where’s yours?” 

Jessica’s expression changed from incredibly annoyed to incredibly suspicious. Carol sighed. “In case I need to find you for anything. You are my liaison after all.” Her mouth crinkled into a small smirk.

The brunette narrowed her eyes, but grudgingly gestured back the way they had come. “Next door. You’d better not be the type who snores. The walls are thin.”

“I do not snore.” Carol put one hand on hear heart and raised the other. “Scouts Honor.” 

Jessica didn’t look convinced. “Right. Well. Goodnight then.” She nodded towards the apartment. “Door’s unlocked. Make yourself at home, I guess. I’ll get you in the morning.” 

“What, you’re not going to give me a tour of the apartment?” 

Jessica smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. It was a line she had heard all too often before, though never from a woman. She didn’t think Carol meant it like so many men had. “No. You’re a smart girl. I’m sure you can find your way around a one bedroom flat.” 

That was a dismissal if Carol had ever heard one. “Good night then,” was all she said as she let herself inside the fully furnished, yet sparsely decorated, apartment.

*****

Jess woke with a silent gasp and a flutter of eyelashes, but nothing more. She had trained herself a long time ago to not cry out in her dreams. Hands curled into fists, she pressed them into her eyes to will away the dreams of green hair and soft lips that whispered threats of pleasure and promises of pain. It was still dark in her room, so it took a moment for her to orient herself. She was in the Avengers Compound, not some dark, dank cell. She was safe. Or as safe as she could be.

With a sigh she just finally sat up and looked over at the clock. 5:45 AM. She had slept a lot longer than she normally did, but it felt like she hadn’t slept at all. Between yesterday’s shit show and her usual nightmares, Jess felt like she was running on fumes. Not even coffee could fix this. With another sigh she pushed back the covers and stood, then made her way to the kitchen to start the strongest pot of coffee in the history of the planet. From there it was to the bathroom to wash her face and inspect her burns.

They were better. If her powers had been at full capacity, they’d have been completely healed by now. As it was, they looked more like a really bad sunburn rather than her having been actually roasted from the inside out. Fucking Danvers and microwave hands. No. Just fucking Carol Danvers. Because before the nightmares had taken over her dreams, it had been Carol she was dreaming about. 

How was that even possible? She’s known her for a few hours. Not even a full day! No, Jess knew why. Carol was gorgeous. Intelligent. Had the coolest powers ever. Best of all she had that cocky sort of confidence that Jess was pretty sure gave way to a wicked sense of humor. Right up her alley. Except she was a woman. And all women eventually hated Jessica, whether influenced by her powers or not. It was just a matter of time. 

Jess decided to add Carol to the “People I Refuse to Tolerate List” which was substantially shorter than the “People I Hate List”, but very much longer than the “People I Tolerate List”. A “People I Actually Like List” did not exist. 

Only Natasha, Hill and Fury were on the “People I Tolerate List” because Fury, Hill and Natasha were her handlers and she needed them. Jessica hated needing anyone. But even Jessica had to admit to herself that she did not do well if left to her own devices. She needed to be pointed in some sort of direction or she spiraled dangerously out of control. Naturally, Fury realized that within two seconds of meeting Jessica. He made sure that Jess had someone to tell her what to do if he wasn’t available. Of those three, Natasha was Jessica’s favorite because Natasha was the only person who came close to understanding Jessica at all.

No. Natasha understood Jessica too well because she assigned her to be Carol’s liaison. “Get to know her. Report what you know to us. Her story checks out, but I can’t help but feel she’s hiding something.” Jessica got the distinct impression that Carol didn’t hide anything at all and she knew that if she got that vibe from Carol then so did Natasha. Yes. Natasha was meddling. More reason to keep Captain Carol Danvers on the “Refuse to Tolerate List”.

Face washed and burns re-dressed, she made her way back to her coffee. Not for the first time, she was tempted to drink it directly from the pot, but she had seen Barton do that once and that was enough to kick herself of that habit. She learned shortly after that sweet cream tasted amazing in coffee and it was easier to add it to coffee already in a cup than a coffee pot. There was a fresh supply of sweet cream in the fridge. Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad.

“FRIDAY,” Jess had been here a few days already and she still cringed whenever she talked to Stark’s AI system, “Is Captain Danvers awake?”

Lights turned on and a feminine Irish accent whispered through the flat, “Captain Danvers woke two hours ago and left the premise.” 

The only good part of that sentence was that the coffee mug was still on the counter, so Jessica hadn’t dropped it. “What do you mean ‘Left the Premise’? Did she notify Romanoff or Rogers?”  
“Negative. Security footage shows her going to the roof and flying southwest.” 

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. She was given one job. One easy job, and Jessica had failed it already. Where the hell would Danvers just randomly fly to in the middle of the night? “Get me a list of possible friends and relatives that Danvers might have.” Jessica wasn’t sure what Stark had done with his AIs, but Jess learned quickly that Friday was able to access information that even SHIELD wasn’t privy to. 

“On it.” Not long after, Friday had names and addresses of several people who could possibly have any sort of relation to Captain Danvers. Only the first one mattered. Thankfully, the state of Louisiana was only about a three hour flight, as she recently learned. Maybe Jessica could find Carol and get back before anyone else noticed. Who was she kidding? Natasha probably already knew. Jessica should probably notify her, but fuck it. 

Coffee forgotten, Jess grabbed her ruined jacket and headed for the air hanger.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol checks in on her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again to Msermesth and My2BrownEyes <3

Dawn was just breaking over the tree line when Carol finally touched down in Louisiana. She had slept briefly at the Avengers Compound, but it had been so quiet, and her brain didn’t want to rest. Her thoughts kept circling through the day’s events and all that she had learned. When her brain finally did quiet enough for her to get a little rest, Jessica’s guarded green eyes awaited her. Carol found it all incredibly unsettling (Carol chalked it up to guilt) and finally decided to just stay awake.

She had paced about the apartment for a little bit, but she really needed to just fly. Flying helped her think and focus. So flying Carol went, and now she found herself standing on the porch of Maria’s New Orleans home. She hadn’t been here since Monica had graduated from the police academy and joined the New Orleans Harbor Patrol - a little over ten years ago. Far too long if Maria had anything to say about it, which Carol hoped was the case, because if Maria didn’t have anything to say about that then she was dust along with half the universe. 

A light came on in an upstairs window and hope sparked in Carol’s chest. She had a key and could walk in whenever she wanted, but given the circumstances, she thought it best to knock first. So after several moments of waiting, the lights finally came on in the kitchen. Carol knocked.

The woman who answered the door was tall, muscular, and in her mid-thirties. “Holy shit,” she breathed as she stared at Carol in disbelief for several long moments. “Aunt Carol!” Carol was enveloped in bone crushing hug, which she returned. 

“I hope you don’t use language like that around you mother.” Carol stepped back and looked Monica over. It didn’t escape Carol’s notice that Monica looked older than her now. How did time fly by so fast?

Grief surrounded Monica like a cloak. “Well, mom’s not here for me to have to worry about that.” Tears welled up in the other woman’s eyes, and Carol already knew what was coming. “She...she was just saying how you were due for another visit and then she was gone. Just...vanished.” 

“Oh, honey, come here.” Carol pulled Monica into another hug, but this time the other woman cried tears of grief. She should have come sooner. Should have visited more often. As it was, she had never had a chance to tell Maria exactly how much she meant to her. It was regret more than grief that Carol was feeling in this moment. All that lost time she could have spent with her family and instead spent it being hero. Deep down, Carol knew Maria wouldn’t fault her for that, but right now, it was all Carol could think about. 

Carol wasn’t sure how long they stood there, but eventually they pulled apart and wiped tears from their eyes. “Mom would be so pissed that I’ve kept you standing on the porch this long.” Monica grabbed Carol by the wrist and led her to the kitchen. “Come on, she was making gallons of her sweet tea for you to bring back with you.” Sadness enveloped her again.

“It’s my only weakness.” Carol tried to lighten the mood - it seemed to work as Monica gave a small smile despite the situation. “Seriously though, Monica, have a seat. I’ve got coffee duty this morning. I’ve a lot to tell you.” 

For the next few hours, Carol got Monica caught up on everything. She didn’t care if the government wanted any of the information to remain classified. Monica was her family and had known of the existence of aliens since she was eleven. Carol told her about Thanos, the Infinity Stones, and how the Avengers had a lost. 

“They wouldn’t have lost if you had been here.” Monica whispered quietly. It wasn’t an accusation, but a fact. She gave voice to the little nagging thought that had been in the back of Carol’s head since she had gotten to Earth. If she had paid more attention to the whispers, visited home more, all of this could have been prevented. 

“I know.” Once she found out the fate of Tony Stark and Rocket’s “Guardians of the Galaxy”, Thanos was going to pay. Carol would make sure of that. 

“I know that look, Aunt Carol. That’s the “someone’s in for an ass whooping” look. I’d feel bad for that Thanos if half the universe wasn’t missing.” Sadness still enveloped Monica, but humor had started to peak out through her eyes. 

Carol gave a cocky grin back, despite the situation. “Are you kidding? He won’t even know what hit him!”  


Monica burst out laughing and after that things got a little better. The two women spent the next two hours catching up and filling each other in on their lives. There were still some tears and sadness, but the grief wasn’t as overwhelming anymore. 

They had circled back around to the subject of Thanos and the mission to rescue Tony Stark when there was a knock at the kitchen door. Both women froze and stared at each other. Carol was reminded of a similar moment twenty-three years ago. 

Monica gave a brief smile, obviously having the same thought, as she stood up. “I’ll get it. Those of us that are left in the neighborhood have taken to checking up on each other pretty regularly, you know?”

Carol really couldn’t argue with that. It made sense and she was glad to hear that the folks around here watched out for each other. However, Carol didn’t think they made it a habit to knock at the back door. Carol stood and followed Monica to the door, staying just out of sight. 

A familiar British accent wafted down the entryway. “Good Morning!” Jessica sounded far more cheerful than Carol had ever thought the woman was capable of being. “I’m looking for a Carol Danvers. Might she be in?” 

Carol was at the door and peering over Monica’s shoulder in a second. Red boots. Black Pants. Red leather jacket with a yellow spider and two holes at either shoulder. It couldn’t be anyone else. Jessica’s vibrant green eyes met hers and the dark-haired woman offered a perky smile. “Oh, never mind, there she is!” 

“Here I am!” Carol’s smile was far less perky and bordered on murderous. “Just give us a moment please,” Carol said, then closed the door in Jessica’s face. 

She and Monica moved away from the door before they spoke, “Holy crap. I knew the Avengers were good looking, but I didn’t realize they were hiring ex-beauty pageant contestants. Who is that? Miss Universe?”  


“She wishes. Also, she’s not an Avenger, she’s a spy. She was supposed to be keeping an eye on me, but I gave her the slip. I underestimated her - I didn’t expect her to find me so quickly.” Either Jessica had enlisted the Black Widow’s help, or she was a bit better at the spy game than she had anticipated. Carol wouldn’t make that mistake again. 

“So, I’m not going to invite her in?” Monica asked as they both looked over to see Jessica still standing at the door. Jessica smiled and gave a polite little wave. Could this woman not take a hint?  


“No. Let me talk to her.” Carol didn’t wait for Monica to respond and made her way through the kitchen and out the door. She grabbed Jessica by the elbow and marched her a few feet from the house. “What the hell?”

Not for the first time, Jessica was yanking her arm out of Carol’s grip. Her pleasant smile was gone, and she looked just as annoyed as Carol felt. “What do you mean what the hell? How about what the fuck?”

“What the fuck? What, am I not allowed to check up on my family after half the universe has gone missing? Make sure everything is ok? Let them know I’m ok so they don’t have to worry?” 

From the look on Jessica’s face, it hadn’t occurred that was the reason Carol was here. “You should have at least let FRIDAY know.” 

“Who the hell is FRIDAY?” Then Carol remembered - that was the Avengers AI. “No. Besides, I would have been back in time.” 

“Your ship would have been resupplied by now if I hadn’t had to chase you down.” Jessica crossed her arms and looked thunderous.

“You didn’t have to. You could’ve trusted me to come back.” 

“Right. I should just blindly trust the woman who blasted me across a roof last night.” Jessica pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered to herself, “I told Nat this was a bad idea. I am not cut out for this bullshit.” Carol wasn’t sure if she was supposed to have heard that or not. 

“Look, get in the damn quinjet you flew in on,” she gestured to said jet that was parked in the neighboring field, “and tell Natasha and Steve I had some family business to take care of.” 

“I think not. I’m waiting for you.” Jessica had crossed her arms again and clenched her jaw, looking stubborn.

“You’re not.” 

“Watch me.”

They stood and glared at each other for several minutes, until finally it was Carol who looked away. “Fine. But I’m flying it back.” 

Jessica’s eyes widened in shock, surprised that she had actually won, then suspicion set in. “Fine. I’ll wait right here while you go wrap things up.” Jessica nodded her head in the direction of Monica, who stood on the back porch, watching them. 

“Perfect. Excuse me.” Carol all but stormed away from Jessica, past Monica and back into the house.

Monica, for her part, followed Carol, her eyes wide. “Oh my God. What’s going on here?”

Carol picked up the (now) half gallon of Maria’s sweet tea that Monica had put on the table and chugged it directly from the bottle. She wiped her mouth and looked at Monica incredulously. “What do you mean what’s going on? She came to get me and now I have to go back. I’m sorry.” 

“Well that was obvious, and I understand but that’s not what I’m talking about.” 

The blonde frowned. “What are you talking about then?” 

“Aunt Carol. You let her win a stare down. You never let anyone win a stare down.” Monica’s eyes widened again, and she flailed a hand a Carol. “Oh my God! You’re into her,” she crowed as Carol’s cheeks turned slightly pink.

“I’m not-” but Carol cut herself off as the heat in her face gave her away. Ok. So maybe she had a bit of a thing for Jessica, despite only knowing her for a few hours. Carol was mad that Jessica had hunted her down, but maybe she had agreed to letting Jessica fly her back to the Avengers Compound, so she’d be able to spend some time with her. Jessica clearly disliked her, but Carol was determined to win her over. Which was unusual because Carol didn’t usually give a damn what people thought of her. “Ok. Maybe a little. But she doesn’t like me back.” 

Monica ignored the last bit. “The only thing that could make this better was if mom was here to see it. She’d never let you live this down.” 

That was a true statement, but Maria would have also given Carol advice on how to win Jessica over. “Yeah…” Carol trailed off as she and Monica looked at each other. If their eyes were a little wet, neither one acknowledged it. “You going to be ok? I can tell the Avengers to shove it if you need me to.” 

Monica wiped her eyes and embraced Carol one more time. “I’ll be alright. Knowing you’re still out there kicking ass and taking names makes all this a little easier to bare.” 

“Alright. You know how to get in touch if you need me.” Carol gave Monica a squeeze then let her go. She grabbed a remaining gallon of sweet tea for the ride back. “See you around, kid.”  


“You too.” Monica followed Carol to the door. “Give that Thanos hell from me.” 

Carol laughed despite herself. “You got it.” She waved good-bye one more time then walked to a surprised looking Jessica. Carol found her annoyance with Jessica for hunting her down hadn't waned.  


“Surprised you didn’t try to escape through another exit.” 

Carol handed the brunette the gallon of tea, “Believe it or not, I tend to keep my word.”

Jessica didn’t respond; she just followed Carol into the quinjet and sat down in the co-pilot’s seat next to Carol. 

After flicking some switches, the jet roared to life, and Carol found herself thinking of another time long ago, when Fury sat where Jessica was now. She smiled to herself. “Let’s see how this bird flies.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I did justice to Monica here. I'm not sure if she would be more like the Monica in the comics or not, so I just free-formed her. 
> 
> Also, I have a head-canon that Maria Rambeau makes the world's best sweet tea. The only other person she's shared the recipe is in Monica. Not even Carol has an in on this recipe. Carol is convinced that if Maria marketed the tea correctly, she'd make millions...but she won't. Monica won't either.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol and Jess have a discussion - and banter a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, My2BrownEyes and Msermesth are saints for putting up with me.
> 
> Sorry this took me so long to get up guys. I was struggling with motivation and dialogue a bit. The chapter is a bit longer than some of the others though so ..yay?

Jess sat in silence as Carol got the quinjet into the air. She didn’t offer to help co-pilot. Carol seemed to have it well in hand and was pretending to be engrossed with all the new features the jet had since the last time she had flown one. The way her jaw was clenched said otherwise.

No doubt about it, Carol was mad - Jess had seen that the minute she had showed up at the Rambeau’s door. But now that she had time to reflect and with a surreptitious glance at Carol, it was obvious that the woman had been crying. Jessica had interrupted something incredibly personal and she felt like shit about it. 

Jess prided herself in her ability to give no fucks. She hated that Carol Danvers was able to make her feel guilty. 

As if sensing Jessica’s guilt, Carol finally spoke up, her brown eyes boring holes into her, “What you did - showing up to my home and interrupting time with my family - was incredibly rude and inconsiderate.”

“I think it was rude and inconsiderate of you to just up and leave.” Jess watched as Carol clenched her jaw and gripped the controls a little harder. 

“It was. And I realize that you are just doing your job. I went AWOL and you came to bring me back in, as watching me was your assignment-” 

“Which you caused me to fail,” Jessica observed, though really, she wasn’t too mad about that. Maybe Nat would take her off the assignment now and send her away. Hopefully to do something that would require a lot of punching. Both she and Carol would be happier for it. 

“Yes.” Carol admitted, much to Jessica’s surprise. “However, considering that one of my family members is officially one of those who was wiped from existence because of Thanos, I think I’ll get a pass.” 

Jess looked over at Carol. The blonde’s eyes were a little glassy with unshed tears and her lip trembled a little. Danvers didn’t seem like one to lie, especially about something like this, and the shame Jess was feeling earlier increased ten-fold. What did you say in a situation like this? “I’m sorry for your loss. Among other things.” Jess said, sincere for once in her life. 

“Yeah, me too.” When Jess looked back over, the emotion from before was replaced with a look of determination. Jessica suddenly felt a bit sorry for Thanos, wherever he was. She was familiar with that look and it was on that screamed for revenge.

“Look, I don’t think you’ll be in trouble. If you are, I’ll talk to Rogers and Romanoff about it.” Carol changed the subject away from herself and back to Jessica. 

“I’d rather you didn’t.” Jess responded with a look of suspicion. “I can speak my part for myself thank you very much.” 

“Is that so?” Carol had turned her gaze away from Jess. “You do such a fantastic job of it.” 

“I don’t see why it matters to you. I failed at my job; there’s really nothing you can say to fix it. It would just make things far worse than they are.” Because the last thing Jessica needed was to be babied. She had cultivated her reputation - Carol going to Nat and Steve like some helicopter mom would ruin it in less than a minute. 

“Fine.” 

“Good.” Jess turned her gaze away from Carol and was content to spend the rest of the flight in silence. Carol it seemed, had other plans. 

“How about a “Thank you Carol for respecting my wishes?’’” 

Jess tensed and when she looked at Carol her eyes were practically glowing with rage, “How about you go fuck yourself? No. I am not thanking the woman who blasts me across the roof, leaves in the middle of the night without notifying me and causing me to fail my mission. Absolutely not. Fuck you.” Jess unbuckled herself from her seat and moved towards the back of the quinjet. Tucked off to the side was a red button that Jess punched, causing the tailgate to lower. 

Carol hit auto-pilot and scrambled out of her seat towards Jessica as wind went roaring through the jet. “What the hell are you doing?!” She half flew, half ran and put herself between the open tailgate and Jessica.

“I’m getting away from you.” Jess stated it simply, though she looked past the blonde rather than at her. 

“You hate me so much you want to kill yourself? You didn’t even put on a parachute!” Carol’s voice was pitched high and Jessica couldn’t help but look up at her. The concern Jess saw confused her.

“Noooo,” Jess stated as if explaining something to a child. “I just don’t want to be on this jet with you.” She paused. “If you had actually, you know, taken the time to read my file, you’d know that I can glide.” Sometimes. But Jess left that part out. She was fairly certain that if she jumped off the jet now, she’d be able to glide for at least a little while. Though, if her powers decided to crap out mid glide and she fell the rest of the way to her death, she’d be ok with that too. It’s not like anyone would miss her. 

“And I’d drag your ass right back on this jet.” Carol said as she pushed the button to close the tailgate. 

Carol had her there, so Jessica didn’t argue. “Fine. I’m still not thanking you.” 

“That’s fine. I was out of line there.” Carol sighed and rubbed her eyes before she continued, “If anything I owe you an apology. For hurting you and making your life more difficult. I’m sorry,” Carol reached out as if to touch her, but seemed to think better of it and dropped her arms. 

“Okay.” Jessica responded as she made her way back to the co-pilot’s seat. If Carol thought Jess was going to say “I accept your apology” a second time, she had another thing coming.

Carol didn’t respond, she just watched as Jessica resumed her seat and took the jet off autopilot. Only when Carol was certain Jessica wasn’t going to try and jump out of the quinjet again (or crash it for that matter), did she take her seat. Jessica let her re-take control as soon as she was settled.

There was an uneasy silence for a few minutes before Carol spoke up again, “So, I’ve been thinking.” Jessica huffed in response, but Carol continued, undeterred, “that we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot. If we’re going to be working together, we might as well try to get along.”

“Okay.” Jess shrugged. That could be easy enough. She could be professional when she had to be. 

“I don’t mean just be professional nice,” Carol continued, as if plucking the thought right from Jessica’s head. “I mean you know, getting to know each other a little.” She gave what Jessica assumed was supposed be a reassuring smile. “I’ll even start. I was born in Boston and joined the Air Force right out of High School.”

Jessica stared coolly at the blonde. “You do realize that I am a spy correct?” 

Carol frowned and blinked. “Yes. You’ve told me several times in fact.”

“So, what makes you think that any answer I give you is the correct answer? I’m very good at lying, you know.” 

“I bet Natasha would tell me.”

“Natasha would tell you,” Jessica agreed. “But then the next time you ask, her answer would be different. I’m saving you that embarrassment by not playing at all.” She smirked, then turned away again. 

Carol sighed with exasperation. “I’m not asking for your damned life story here. Just a little bit of information so I know who I’m working with. You can’t tell me you’d do the same? Especially if you were undercover?”

Jessica narrowed her eyes into slits. Carol had a point about the last bit, but that was part of the game. Carol wanted to play it and didn’t quite know how to. “The tiniest bit of information can be used against a person. Thank you, but no.” 

“Wow, you have got to be the most paranoid person I have ever met.” Jessica could hear Carol’s teeth grind from where she sat. 

“Spy.”

“I know.” Suddenly a triumphant grin spread across Carol’s face. “But I still have learned about you!” 

“And what have you learned, besides the paranoia?” Jessica responded, unable to help her curiosity. And maybe, just maybe, she enjoyed the banter with Carol a little bit. But only a little.

“You have a flare for the dramatic.” Carol’s grin could only be described as shit eating. 

“I do not!” Despite herself, Jess was slightly offended at that. She crossed her arms and glared at the other woman. 

“Then what was that whole bit with jumping out of the jet earlier?” Carol asked. She still looked amused, but her tone had taken on an accusatory edge. 

“That was me trying to get away from you.” Jessica answered honestly. “Do you know what I’ve learned about you? You’re infuriating.” 

That shit eating grin had returned to Carol’s face as she shot back, “I bet you were in drama club in high school.” 

“Not everyone goes to high school you know.” She knew what assumption Carol had made by the dumbfounded look on her face. It wasn’t the correct assumption, but it was always the look she got when she answered any questions about high school. 

“Soo...you were home-” Carol turned her eyes to Jessica again, but cut herself off. A slow, wicked smile of amusement had spread across Jessica’s face and lit up her green eyes. 

Several things occurred to Carol in a small handful of seconds. One - Jessica had let her guard down but probably didn’t realize it. Two - In this moment she was seeing a part of the real Jessica. Not guarded, spy Jessica. Carol had a feeling this was not a side that Jessica intentionally showed anyone. Ever. Three - Jessica had the most beautiful smile and Carol wanted desperately to kiss her but valued her life enough to know that kissing Jessica would not be a good idea. 

“-schooled?” Carol managed to finish her question, though the last came out as an undignified squeak. God, if Maria was here, she would be laughing so hard at her right now. A faint blush began to creep up Carol's neck and she hastily looked away as Jessica’s grin faded and turned to confusion. She missed the faint blush that had crossed Jessica’s cheeks at the same time. 

Right when it was about to get beyond awkward, the controls started to beep, which gave them just enough notice that they were about to hit some turbulence. Carol was glad for the distraction and focused on keeping the quinjet steady rather than on the woman in the cockpit next to her. When they were through it however, she noticed Jess had looked away again, but she looked more speculative than guarded. That was an improvement, right?

They sat in a more companionable silence than before, but Carol was never one for long silences. “So, how’d you become a spy?” 

Amusement crept back into Jessica’s eyes and a corner of her mouth quirked up. Carol had to remind herself to breathe as Jessica responded, “Are you thinking of becoming one?” 

“No! It’s part of that ‘getting to know you’ thing.” 

The amusement left Jessica’s face to be replaced by that guarded look again. “I don’t see the point. You’re just going to leave once you do whatever else you need to do.” 

Carol pursed her lips and countered, “How do you know? I might decide to stick around.” 

Jessica rolled her eyes, clearly not believing Carol, “Everyone leaves. It’s just a fact of life.” 

Carol had sneaky suspicion Jessica meant that everyone leaves her. “That might be, but not everyone leaves forever, just a little while.” 

“If you say so,” Jess responded, clearly not believing her. She was turned away from Carol, her chin resting in her hand. There was an air of melancholy around her now and Carol didn’t like it, but she wasn’t about to drop the subject. 

A thought was percolating in the back of Carol’s mind, and she sat in silence until it was fully formed. “So you’re a bitch to everyone because you don’t want them to like you. You don’t want them to like you because you’re afraid they’ll leave you and not come back.” 

Surprise flitted across Jessica’s face only to be followed by a pointed glare, “You’ve been talking to Natasha,” she accused. 

A triumphant smirk crossed Carol’s face, glad to have so accurately pinpointed Jessica’s motives for her behavior, “Actually no. I reached that conclusion on my own. Glad to know I’m on the same page as Natasha though.” 

“Fuck you.” Jessica said, though she sounded more defeated than anything. The blonde’s smirk faded. Why defeated? Carol had a feeling not many people were able to see past the walls the walls Jessica had so carefully constructed around herself. So maybe it was that Carol had seemingly broken through them so easily? She stole another glance at Jessica. The brunette had turned away from her again but was now digging her nails into her thigh so hard that her knuckles had turned white. 

Carol reached over and took Jessica’s hand, pulling it away from her thigh. She began to rub circles on the back of it with her thumb, not taking her eyes off Jessica as she did so. The other woman stared at their hands for a minute, then closed her eyes and let out an involuntary sigh. With the sigh came a subtle relaxation and Carol gained another glimmer of insight into Jessica Drew. 

It didn’t last long, as Jess gently pulled her hand away and opened her eyes to stare at Carol. This time, her expression was unreadable, and Carol wasn’t sure what to make of that. 

“I think you’re nuts putting all this effort into trying to get to know someone you’ve only met a few hours ago. Usually, when people are this persistent, they want something,” Jessica said quietly. She had Carol there. “The best I can do is call a truce. I’ll try to be less of a bitch so long as you’re here. You don’t go prying into my mind like some shrink. Deal?”

The blonde couldn’t help but be a little disappointed in that but realized that she had probably pushed Jessica enough for now. It was still better than Jessica hating her. “It’s a deal,” Carol reached out her hand to seal the deal and grinned when Jess took it in a firm shake of her own. 

Both women settled back into their seats, the tension having dissipated almost completely. She should leave it at that, let the rest of the flight be in silence, but she couldn’t help but ask one last question, “So, how many different kinds of breakfast sandwiches does the cafeteria offer?” 

This time the look Jess gave her was a mixture of suspicion and interest. It was then that Carol remembered that Jessica enjoyed food. When she answered, “Any combination you can think of,” Carol silently cheered in triumph. 

“Even tofu, sprouts and egg white?” she ventured and laughed when Jess gave her a look of pure disgust.

“That’s not even a sandwich. Who would even eat that? If that is something you eat, there is no more truce,” Jessica waved her hands in exasperation. 

“Says the British chick who probably thinks Marmite is nectar from the gods.” 

“I do not!” 

They spent the rest of the flight mocking each other’s taste in food, but by the time they landed, the looks of suspicion from Jessica had faded. She was still guarded, but Carol didn’t mind. Maybe, just maybe, she had found a way to get into Jessica’s good graces.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jess gets a new assignment. Carol and Nat have a chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally another chapter! Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up everyone - I need a bit of a break after the last one and then I had to figure exactly what I wanted to happen next. This one is a bit shorter than the last few, and for that I apologize. The next chapter will almost definitely be longer to make up for it. 
> 
> Once more (and like every chapter before it) thank you again to My2BrownEyes and Msermesth. You guys are the best.

The next day, Thor and Rocket still hadn’t returned. They weren’t too late, at least according to Carol’s “A day and a half - but by what planet’s standard of time?”, but Steve had grown concerned. Carol was holed away with Banner looking at star maps to see if she could pinpoint exactly where this star Thor and Rocket were headed to was located. That left Jess to her own devices for the first time since Carol had shown up at the compound. She was simultaneously relieved and at a loss of exactly what to do, which was an unusual predicament for her. 

To be fair, Jess had tried to stick around the lab as Banner and Carol discussed astronomy and astrophysics, but they might as well have been speaking another language that Jessica would never understand. So she found herself leaning against the door to the meeting room and watched Natasha as she poured over notes.

“You look lost.” Natasha looked up from trying to figure out where to send what was left of SHIELD to where they could do the most good post Snap. The red-head reached for a bottle of water (or maybe it was Vodka. You never could tell with Nat) and leaned back in her chair as she took a swig. “Shouldn’t you be with Danvers?” 

Jess took it as an invitation to enter the room and took the seat across from Natasha. “Currently, Danvers is holed up with Banner looking at star maps and trying to pinpoint exactly when we can expect the ‘Rabbit’ and Thor back. I wasn’t much help with that.” 

Natasha nodded, accepting that excuse, and slid a report across the desk. “She doesn’t really need a liason anymore anyway.” Jess narrowed her eyes at that comment but Natasha’s expression remained neutral. “We found Lang’s van.” 

*****

Several hours later, Carol emerged from the lab feeling cross eyed and hungry. Studying star maps did that to a person, she supposed. Not that she and Dr. Banner hadn’t made any progress. Quite the opposite. She was fairly confident that if she and the Doc had pinpointed the approximate location of Nidavellir, just in the off chance she needed to do not one, but two rescue missions. Carol really hoped it was only going to be one. 

Despite the direness of the situation, Carol found that she enjoyed her time with Dr. Banner and found it hard to believe he could turn into a large, green monster. When She had asked Jess for a bit more background before meeting with Banner that morning, she had just shrugged and said, “He’s ok.” Carol had a distinct feeling that was probably the nicest thing Jess had ever said about anyone. 

Her thoughts turned to the previous days events. Much to Carol’s disappointment, the jet ride back to the compound the other day hadn’t made everything better between her and Jess, but they were better. At least Jessica had moved on from glaring daggers at her to a cool professionalism when others were present. If they were alone, Jess was quiet but in a companionable sort of way that Carol really didn’t mind. It was a step in the right direction and that was a win in Carol’s books. 

Her thoughts of Jess led her to Natasha’s “office” on the assumption that Jess would probably be there looking for something to do. She let herself in without knocking and took the seat across from Natasha like Jess had before her. It occurred to Carol just how much she thought about one Jessica Drew. She should probably be alarmed by this, but instead it made her stomach do little flip flops of joy whenever she got to spend time with the spy. Needless to say, Carol was dismayed to see Jessica was not hanging with Natasha. 

Nat completed whatever it was she was working on and looked up at Carol with a raised eyebrow. “Are you here looking for Steve to let him know what you and Banner found out or are you looking for Jessica?” 

“Both.” No point in trying to bluff Nat. Carol had already learned that the woman already knew everything. “Rocket over estimated the time it would take to get back. Give it two more days.” Carol leaned back in her chair, only just barely refraining from putting her feet up on the table. 

“Of course he did.” Nat responded and noted something down on another piece of paper.

“I figured Jessica got bored of me and Banner talking stars. But since that’s over, I figured I could go back to annoying her with my presence again, since she’s my liaison and all.” 

Natasha’s eyes flickered up briefly then returned to her paperwork, “Jessica isn’t here. She went back to California.”

“Oh.” Carol tried not to sound disappointed. “Why’d she go back?” 

This time Natasha gave the blonde her full attention and Carol was reminded that this was not a woman to trifle with. “Because she had to wrap up a case that the Snap interrupted. She’ll be back.” Carol would have taken that as a dismissal, but Natasha continued to stare at her as if assessing something. “She might need a friend though.” 

“Guess you’d better get packing then,” Carol said. If Jess saw anyone as a friend, Carol figured it was going to be Natasha. Carol hoped Jess would one day feel like that towards her and someday maybe as more than a friend, but she wasn’t dumb enough to believe that would be sooner rather than later. Besides, it was clear that Nat was Jessica’s handler, though even Carol could tell that Nat saw Jessica as something of a little sister. They were most certainly cut from the same cloth. Though why Jessica would need a friend to close out a mission was beyond Carol. 

Natasha leaned back in her chair, her eyes not leaving Carol. “Oh no. I think you should be the one to get packing.” 

“Me?” Carol leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, one eyebrow raised. “I only just got her to barely tolerate me. What does she need a friend for anyway? I’m sure she’s perfectly capable of closing a case herself.” Carol voiced her earlier thought. 

Natasha stared at her. Ok. So that was a stupid question. “Can you at least tell me why it has to be me?” Carol tried. 

“Because,” the red head responded as she began to shuffle through her papers again, “Jess has warmed up to you faster than I’ve seen her warm to anyone. Maybe to her, you can be what Steve is to me.” It hadn’t escaped Carol that Natasha and Steve were close friends. And if she could one day be that person to Jessica, Carol wasn’t about to complain. But then Nat whispered, so quietly Carol barely heard it, “Or her James.”

“You mean Rhodey?” Carol tilted her head. She hadn’t gotten that impression from the two of them at all. Friends yes, but nothing more than that. 

That was apparently the wrong question as Nat gave Carol a look so cold it could freeze the sun, “No, not Rhodey. It’s no one to concern yourself with Danvers. I do suggest that you get going sooner rather than later. I’ve already sent the location to that fancy helmet you wear.” 

Carol sat up straighter, about to argue that no one gave her orders, but thought the better of it this time. Despite the fact that she could probably incinerate Natasha without a second glance, the Black Widow was still a force to be reckoned with. 

Instead, she stood and gave Natasha sloppy salute. “I’m on my way.” With that she turned on her heel and left the spy to her papers, grumbling about grumpy Russians the whole way to the roof. Who needed a plane when you could fly?


End file.
